The Cancun Trilogy, An Erotic Beach Romance (14 page)

Terra held her dress as she stepped
aboard, holding onto Nik with her other hand. She quickly realized
that everyone on board was part of Nik’s family. As was the limo
driver. They all seemed to be playing their part in a perfectly
choreographed plan. Handed flutes of champagne, they were guided by
another family member to the bow of the yacht.

As they stood at the front rail, the
boat powered away, cutting through the water with an agility that
belied its size. A salty breeze pushed over them. Terra snuggled
close to Nik, nuzzling her face into his neck and breathing him in.
A woman came up behind Terra and placed a soft wool sweater over
her shoulders. Terra glanced back and realized it was Anna. Before
Terra could say anything, Anna slipped back into the shadows with a
sly smile.

About the time they finished their
champagne, the boat pulled up to a dock. The area was dark. Terra
wasn’t sure if it was an island or a part of the coast. Before she
could ask, Nik’s brother, Arteus, guided them off the yacht and
onto the dock. They walked toward the beach, Terra’s heels knocking
on the wood planks. When they got to the sand, they
stopped.

“Take off shoes,” Arteus said. Nik
began taking his shoes off. Terra did the same. When they handed
them over, Arteus took them and turned back to the boat without
another word.

Terra wasn’t sure what was going on.
She trusted Nik, but she was starting to feel a little unnerved.
Away from the light of the boat, she couldn’t see much of anything.
Standing in the cool sand, she was anxious for what was going to
come next. As if sensing it, Nik turned to her and smiled. She
could barely make out his features in the dark, but saw his bright
green eyes and could tell from them that he was smiling.

Terra thought Arteus had gone back to
the boat, but he was standing on the dock. He said something to Nik
that sounded like “Ready?” “Yes,” Nik said over his shoulder. Terra
saw Arteus light something. A flame billowed at the end of a torch.
Arteus bent and touched the torch to something. Another torch, this
one set in the sand, lit up. He leaned and lit another torch a few
feet way.

Nik put his hand on Terra’s back and
motioned her to look forward. Terra hadn’t seen them in the dark,
but two long lines of torches had been placed in the sand, forming
a path. They were set close enough together so that as one was lit,
its flame lit the one next to it. As Nik and Terra stood there, the
long lines of torches began lighting in turn, cascading forward,
rolling ahead of them like a wave of fire. Terra felt a whoosh of
warmth as the flames passed them. The fire lit up the beach,
stretching further and further ahead. Nik pulled Terra closer to
him.

Terra could see the beach better now.
It was narrow. The sand area was crowded in by high rock
formations, now lit by the blazing line of torches.

It was like something out of a fairy
tale. The trail created by the fiery torches stretched ahead and
around a curve. After giving her a moment to catch her breath, Nik
lead her down the center of the trail, as if they were entering the
land of Oz. The heat from the torches clashed with the cool air,
flushing Terra with alternating waves of hot air and cool
breeze.

As they got to the bend in the trail,
Terra could see the flickering glow of lights up ahead. Once they
made it all the way around the bend, the trail of torches
stopped.

Just below them, starting a few steps
from where they stood, was a white sand beach that was tucked into
a cove. It was lit by thousands of candles set in the sand. An
outcropping of rock jutted out high over the sand, dramatically
covering the beach like a gothic ceiling. The candles threw dancing
light on the rock ceiling, illuminating the beach like a magic
lantern.

In the center of the beach, near the
water line, was a table and two chairs. The table was covered with
a white tablecloth. Nik lead Terra to the table, guiding her
through the candles. Terra held her dress close, picking her way
through.

Nik held her chair for her as she sat.
On the table was wine, cheese, olives, and fresh bread—Terra
realized at once that it was the exact same thing they’d had on
their first day together, when they were on the porch of his house
in Cancún.

A pang went through her as she
realized that she had fallen in love with him then—on that first
day. Being the sensible sort, she had never admitted it to herself,
but now she realized it with total clarity.

They didn’t touch the food, or the
wine. Nik reached across the table and took her hand. A warm flush
went through her, just from the touch of his skin. His eyes, warm
in the candlelight, danced and flickered as he looked at her,
completely absorbed.

As she fixed on his eyes, amazed again
at how beautiful he was, she had a realization. His physical beauty
was so overpowering that it could be deceptive. She had more than
once questioned herself, secretly wondering if the love she felt
for him wasn’t at least partly influenced by his astonishing
physical beauty. But now she realized that it was his internal
beauty that she had fallen in love with. The real Nik, the Nik she
loved, was beautiful on the inside. Maybe his love for her came in
part from the fact that she was able to see past the physical, to
the real man underneath, and to love him for what she found
there.

Still holding her hand, he slid out of
his chair, onto one knee. She stood. Despite herself, the sight of
him before her, looking up at her, and everything that it meant,
hit her with a wave of emotion that caused her hand jump to her
mouth as tears welled in her eyes.

He held a ring in his hand.

“Terra, when you look at me, I feel
like I’m being seen for the first time. Other people look at me.
You
see
me. The complete me. And when I look at you, it’s
like I’m catching a glimpse of divinity. I see the real you. The
beauty that is inside you. I love you. I’ve always loved you. You
are—” Despite his efforts, his voice cracked. He took a moment.
“You are my truth. Terra, will you marry me?”

“Yes. Yes. A thousand times,
YES!
”

Chapter 4

The
pilot announced they would be arriving at Cancún airport in thirty
minutes. Though she hadn’t fallen asleep, it was a lot like waking
from a pleasant dream. Terra didn’t want to let go of her reverie.
She kept her eyes closed and her head rested back. She could still
feel the cool sand in her toes, and see the flickering light of a
thousand candles. She could feel Nik’s hand putting the ring on her
finger.
You are my truth
.

Terra moved her head and realized her
neck had stiffened. She opened her eyes and looked at Vicky—still
asleep, pen in her hand.

Lifting the window visor, she realized
they had banked out over the ocean. She could see the line of the
coast.

Once the plane landed, things would
get hectic. The wedding was tomorrow, and as soon as they got off
the plane, Vicky was sure to go into full chaos mode. There was a
lot to get done, and no time for delays—the weather forecast said a
storm was coming in the day after tomorrow.

Terra realized that this was her last
moment of peace for awhile. She wanted to go back. Just one more
time. She wanted to make sure that the week she spent in Athens was
firmly burned into her memory. She knew that as an old lady, with
grandchildren scampering around her feet, she’d want to be able to
remember that time—like a secret you keep in a hidden chamber of
your heart.

She closed the window visor.
Just a
few more minutes to remember.
A mischievous smile tugged at the
corners of her mouth as she rested her head back and closed her
eyes…

Chapter 5

Interruptions.
After the proposal, there was just no
end to the interruptions. The second she and Nik would find time
alone, someone would barge in. Terra was getting desperate. She
knew Nik was too. She wanted to have sex with her fiancé—that
didn’t seem unreasonable. It had now been over a week since they’d
done it. It was amazing for her to think she used to go for months
and hardly even think of sex. Now she wanted a long, uninterrupted
afternoon, like they had back in Cancún on days when it rained and
they had to stay inside all day. Sex in the bathtub. Sex in the
bed. Sex on the kitchen table. On the floor. On top of him. On her
knees—at this point, she’d take it however she could get it. Even a
quickie. Maybe in the bathroom. Or against the wall.
However.

In the days after the proposal, Terra
and Nik worked out their schedules. Terra had to leave Athens in a
couple days to start her junior year of college. Nik would go back
to Cancún to finish building the dive sanctuary. They would get
married in Cancún the following year. Carmine had agreed to work on
the medical clinic that Terra wanted to build. There was a lot of
logistics to figure out. It would mean time away from each other,
but Nik insisted that Terra follow through on her dream of medical
school and becoming a Pediatrician. All the planning was stressful,
and they both needed a release—if they could just get a few minutes
together without interruption. They’d be getting on separate planes
soon, and Terra wasn’t about to let that happen without
consummating her engagement with her fiancé.

But once engaged, Terra was considered
part of Nik’s family, and everyone wanted a piece of her. Which
meant she and Nik were never alone.

Nik’s dad, an intimidating man,
insisted on showing Terra the olive oil factory that was the
original source of the family’s wealth. He was giving them the
tour, leading them down the stairs to the sub-basement where huge
vats of fresh olive oil were stored. He had been explaining to
Terra, in broken English, the whole process of making olive oil.
Nik was interpreting where needed.

“Cold pressed. We prevented that.
Right here,” Nik’s dad said with pride, just as his phone
rang.

“Invented,”
Nik wearily
corrected.

Nik’s dad started barking into his
phone in Greek. Terra had been studying Greek for the past year and
understood some of what he was saying—most of it consisted of curse
words. He covered the phone with his meaty hand and turned to them.
“I have to do this to take care of,” he said, confusing Terra. He
then said something to Nik in Greek.

Nik nodded and his dad went back to
yelling into his phone, bounding up the stairs two at a time. Nik
and Terra heard the door at the top of the stairs close. They
looked at each other, wide eyed.
Silence.
Alone. They
were alone.
Sure, they were in the basement of an olive oil
factory, surrounded by large vats of olive oil, but they were
actually, finally alone.

Nik pretended not to notice. “Over
here, we have extra, extra, virgin oil,” he said, dipping his
finger into the sample cup of oil that sat on a table next to the
vat. He turned to Terra and put his finger to her lips. She opened
her mouth as he ran his finger over her bottom lip.

She grabbed his wrist and stepped into
him. “Nik, he’ll be back soon. Please. Don’t tease me. I can’t take
it anymore. I don’t know how much time we have. Probably not much.
Let’s not waste it.” She put her other hand behind his head and
pulled him to her. Grabbing him roughly, she spoke as she kissed
him. “Please, Nik. Just—just kiss me—until he comes back. We’ll
hear him—on the stairs—and stop then.”

Nik pulled away. “Oh, God,” Terra said
in frustration. “
Uuugh
.”

“Just a sec,” Nik said, running up the
stairs.

“Nooo, don’t you dare
leave me alone down here!”

He was only gone a moment before
coming bounding back down. “My dad told me he had to attend to
something and will be back soon, but I locked the door so we can
have some privacy. Probably not for long though, because
he—”

“Oh, thank God,” Terra cut him off,
throwing herself at him. He was just as ravenous, already pulling
his shirt off as she yanked her skirt down. “Forget the foreplay,”
she said breathlessly. “I’m ready now. I’ve been ready.” She
quickly unbuttoned her blouse as he kissed her and unbuckled his
pants at the same time. “Just… just give it to me. Oh, God. Oh, God
I want you.” Clothes went flying in a blur of colors.

Kicking his pants away, Nik got on his
knees before her and began pulling her panties down. He had them
down to her knees when he lustily pressed his face to her crotch,
causing her to double forward and grab his hair. He pulled her
panties all the way off as he nuzzled his face deeper, dipping his
head back. She was already slippery against his face, heat coming
off her like a fever. As he kissed around her crotch, he put his
arm against her inner thigh and pulled her leg over his shoulder,
pushing her legs apart.

Reaching up, he spread her and pressed
his mouth to her, gorging her exposed opening with his
tongue.

“Oh, God,” she called out, grabbing
fists full of hair.

“Shhhh
,” he said.

“Right. Okay. I can be quiet. I think.
Oh-oh, God!
” She was standing on one foot, with the other
leg over his shoulder. Her weight was pressed down on him as he
licked and sucked her.